an increasingly critical tool
Andy Barron, Global Fatigue and Fracture
Mechanics Specialist at Element Materials
Technology, UK,
highlights the importance of
high quality engineering critical assessment
(ECA) data in preventing and mitigating
critical pipeline failures.
ECAs
F
or over half a century, the oil and gas industry has been identifying and extracting ‘easy’ reserves of natural oil and
gas, but such deposits are becoming rarer. The trend towards exploration and production in harsher environments
has resulted in unprecedented financial and technological challenges for majors. Pipeline installation has become
considerably more sophisticated and there is now increased demand to provide the confidence that pipelines will
function safely for longer periods in these deeper, colder and sourer deepwater environments.
